Pyramidihuijauksia

Pyramidihuijauksia, also known as pyramid schemes, are a form of investment fraud that structures itself as a legitimate business opportunity. The primary way participants make money is by recruiting new members into the scheme, rather than by selling actual products or services. New recruits are required to pay a fee to join, a portion of which is distributed to the recruiters above them in the pyramid.

The core concept is that early investors earn substantial returns by recruiting more and more people. As the pyramid grows, the number of potential recruits becomes exhausted, and the scheme inevitably collapses. Participants at the bottom of the pyramid lose their initial investment because there are no new people to recruit, and the promised returns are never realized.

Pyramid schemes are illegal in many jurisdictions due to their inherently fraudulent nature. They are often disguised as multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses, but a key distinction is the emphasis on recruitment over product sales. In a genuine MLM, income is primarily derived from selling products, with recruitment offering an additional, secondary income stream. In pyramid schemes, the focus is almost exclusively on the recruitment fees. Authorities typically warn the public to be skeptical of any opportunity that promises high returns with little effort and relies heavily on recruiting new members.